Israel raids Gaza Strip after days of rocket fire

At least 8 killed in attacks; onlookers vow revenge

Ibrahim Barzak, The Associated Press

Published 10:00 pm, Wednesday, September 26, 2007

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip -- Israeli military forces killed at least eight Palestinians and wounded 25 in an airstrike and a tank-led ground operation Wednesday, the bloodiest day in the Gaza Strip since Israel declared it a "hostile territory."

The Israeli army said the raids were a response to near daily bombardment of Israeli border towns, including 20 mortar shells and 10 rockets fired Wednesday, and Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak warned that "we are moving closer to a broad and complex operation in Gaza" to stop rocket fire.

Israel's designation of Gaza as a "hostile territory" last week was a precursor to the possible cutoff of electricity and other utilities to the coastal strip, which is ruled by the Islamic militants of Hamas.

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In Wednesday's airstrike, missiles hit a jeep as it crossed a crowded intersection in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City, killing at least four members of the Army of Islam, a small militant group involved in kidnapping a BBC journalist and capturing an Israeli soldier.

The Israeli military said the jeep was carrying rockets ready for firing.

The bodies in the jeep were badly disfigured, prompting different death tolls. Hospital officials said four people died, while the Army of Islam said five of its members were killed.

Dozens of Palestinians surrounded the wrecked jeep, some dipping their hands into the blood of the victims, to underscore their demand for revenge.

The Army of Islam, a group that broke away from Hamas, was involved in the March kidnapping of BBC journalist Alan Johnston, who was later freed. The group is also thought to be among those holding Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, seized in a cross-border raid in June 2006.

In the ground incursion, tanks took control of the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun. The military said militants launched rockets from the town. The Israeli forces withdrew later Wednesday, it said.

Witnesses said a tank shell hit between two houses and soldiers fired tank-mounted machine guns. The army's fire killed four Palestinians and wounded 25, including five critically, hospital doctors said.

The army said the tank fired toward a group of militants carrying anti-tank missiles.

A top aide to the head of the Hamas government in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, said the Israeli operations would strengthen the resolve of Gazans. "The honorable Palestinian blood shed by this Nazi army will only make us more steadfast," Mohammed Madhoun said.

In the West Bank, meanwhile, Palestinian security officials seized two homemade rockets, a possible sign that the attack techniques of Gaza militants are spreading. The projectiles, not yet fitted with explosives, were discovered in Bethlehem and handed over to the Israeli army.